Bali Trip :Planning and Day 1 :Nusa Penida

We had planned this trip before but due to  few reasons we couldn’t execute it.Cost wise too, a trip to Bali from Bahrain will be costlier due to airfare for the long distance flight..

So we planned to travel to Bali during 1 of our trips to India, as airfare would be cheaper that way.

I also contacted few Travel Companies for arranging a  travel plan through Instagram.Out of the 7-8 pages that I pinged, only 3-4  pages responded. Some of them seemed to don’t have customised tours and you need to pick from their standard tours. 1 Page was a driver, who will not advise on the other logistics  of the travel.So I had a chat with Mr.Suraaj Nair from Bali Euphoria Tours.

He patiently answered all my queries, also customised the tour plan  according to the places I want to visit.He also gave many hotel options to choose from.Price quote was also very reasonable.

I also had few whatsapp calls with him to discuss other travel related queries. He was also  available anytime to answer to whatsapp messages, which made things easier to communicate.

We transferred around 50% of the amount to Mr.Suraaj account 3 days before reaching Bali and we paid the remaining amount to the guide on reaching Bali.

The guide Mr.Wuyan  was also very friendly  and knew the locals well. He took us to small shops for small purchases whenever required and made us comfortable.All Lunch and dinner through out the trip was included in the  package cost and they took to us to special places for lunch and dinner. Each restaurant was wisely chosen and also fancy.

 

On check-in at the airport in Chennai, India, we were asked to  show Hotel Bookings.Luckily we had the booking for the first 2 days, which we showed. Also they expected us to install Pedungang App  and register our  details in  the same. Also this app was checked in Kula Lampur Airport before boarding the second flight to Bali.  It is sufficient if it is installed in 1 phone and you can add other family /friends details who are travelling  with you to Bali in the app.So  for 1 family or friend group, it is sufficient if 1 person installs the app and add the other’s details in  it.

One reaching Bali, there are separate counters for Visa payment and visa Issue.So queues move faster. Visa fees is $ 35 per person .Travel insurance was not checked .There were  few articles in the Internet, that Visa is free  for Indians.But that is not true. Indians do get On Arrival Visa.There is a immigration form to be filled with some basic details before leaving the airport and it needs to be handed over to a officer.

 

We collected our luggage and met our guide. On the way to Hotel, we exchanged some dollars and also bought simcard for 250k IDR. 

We checked in at Astagina Hotel in Kuta. It was already dark and restaurant was closed at the hotel already.

We had a nice small black forest cake waiting in our room.Hence we had some cake, some sandwiches (bought already)  and rested.

Day 1: Nusa Penida

For Nusa Penida, we were picked at hotel at 6 :30 am. We had packed breakfast ready at reception. We picked it and left for Sanur Harbour. At Sanur Harbour, we waited and got into a speedboat. 

To get into the boat, we need to walk in water that is knee deep.Hence better to wear shorts  or similar.

On reaching Nusa Penida, which is 1 hr travel, we were transferred into another speedboat , taken to shore. Our guide was  already waiting for us.

He took us first to  Angel’s Billabong. There are many photo spots here .

Then we walked  to Broken Beach.There are 2 spots to see here.Both are Instagram worthy spots.

Then we drove to    Kellingking Beach .There are quite few places to see , you can also climb down to water .

 

After this we were taken to a   restaurant for lunch. We had a set menu that was included  in the package  containing drinks, main course.Watermelon juice was soo sweet and fresh.Generally food tastes  spicy like Indian cuisine , so it was not difficult to adapt.Fried rice, eggs are available everywhere.

Later we went to Crystal Beach, spent some time there.Cost of tender coconut was 30K there.

Then we went to harbour and waited there to take the speedboat. We took the boat, travelled for 1 hr, reached Sanur Harbour.We waited for our Driver, seems like he didn’t get parking, so he parked the car a little far and came walking, so it got late.

Cost of rubber Chappals is 40K after bargaining for a second.Initial price was 60K.

We were driven to  Warung Dapur Alum for Balinese Dinner at 6 pm.Food was awesome. We got a plate full of satay, kebabs, etc in both Vegetarian and chicken.

Place had good swings to play around and click pictures while waiting for food.

We were later driven to  the hotel by 8 pm.There are good streets around the hotel for shopping, but unluckily we never got any time for the same